Firearm holster



March 27, 19.51 w. F. @HLEMEYEQ 2,54,774

FIREARM noms' Filed Jah; 27, 95o

Wa 11er j' 0,6 /emeyf A Itarm'y Patented Mar. 27, 1951' 2,546,774FIREARM Hons'TER Walter F. Ohlemeyer, El Paso, Tex Application January27, 19,50;l serial, 140,85?

1 This inventionI relates to a' novel construction of firearmv holsterparticularly adapted for refvolvers and pistols and having a front sightre-n ceiving'channel o'r groovewh'ereby the front sight is maintainedVout of contact with the4 holstert'o permit' a revolver or pistol" to loemore readily applied to'or removed from a holster and to pre` vent theyfront sight from tearing cr cutting the holster materiali'l ModernVVrevolvers and pistols are factory equipped with' undercut and square cuttypes of front sights which have4 a pronounced tendency to out' and tearthel'eather or other holster materialz especially when' being withdrawnfroml a l'io'l'sterY and' which retardsv the" withdrawal of; the Weaponfrom the'h'olster, results in' apart of the holster material adhering tothe front sight", re= quiring cleaning of thefronts'ight'befo're'ijring,

.andiwhichquickly destroys thevutilityofva holster Llycutting or tearingthroughtheholster material andv destroying'v the liningvr of softAleather' lined holsters.

Accordingly, itvisa primary object 'ofA the prese' ent' invention toprovide" a holsterforfusewith firearms equippedl withsuch frontsight-"sV and' which is provided` with' a sig-ht' receiving channel bywhich the frontfsight is held out? of contact with theY holster materialso' thatz Withclifawal`V 0fthe` weapon from? the", holster isi no'tretarded` and t'oy prevent thel'fro'nt-sight"A tearing or cutting anypart of the? holster'rnateria-lincluding the sight receivingA channel.

Various other obj ectsf andi advantages of the" inventionwvilihereinafterzbec'cmefmoreffuilyv apr parent fromV the followingydescription of*l thev drawing illustrating preferredl enfxbodixnents;Ithereof, and wherein:

Figure lisa planvieW' of ablankf used'inco'nstructingone form of holster'in accordance with the invention;

Figure2fis =asideelevationalfview; partly broken away,- illustratingythe completed holster and look@ ingtowardthe-outer side thereof;

Figure Bris an edge elevational view-o f-thesamer looking from vrightyto-left of-Figureg Figure 4 is a substantially/central sectional Viewthereof`,` partly in elevation ,.taken along a plane as indicated-by theune 4"-4ofrigure 3 andshowing a revolver appliedv to the'jholster;

Figure '5 is a" fragmentary" cross sectional View`takensubstantiallyalong a 'plane 'as indicated 'by' the line 5-5 ofFigure 3;

Figure is a View similar t'oFigui-e' 5"l but villustrating another'shape of sightfchann'el Y 3 Claims. (Cl. 224+@ and 6 but iiiuseratinethree other' forms of sight channels; d v Y v Figure A10-isalfragmentary-'side elevational View of the upper forward portion of theholster,andV illustrating another means of'j fastening the sightchannel; and' VFigure Iltis a cross` sectional'- Viewtakenjsuloistantially ong a plane as indicated by' they line l'j-.jlofFigure 10. I

eferring'" more' yspec,iiitzally to the drawing? ate. one fonfli ofirevolver 'd generally lf2 and" rieres, 2 ,3' 4.111 or' holster, de K theslot I l and. the-OuteredeeS-of-the portions ,le

andA Hare. Secured together in anyvsuitablermanf Iier; 'nrefereblrbrStitchinef-a-`en ,at 1 8 Fg; ures 2 and 4. A relatively. thiol@ Welt [Elisinterposed between the stitched @dees 1 of the: holster sides I4 l5YandI issecufed-therein;br theV stitching,A I8 passing-alsothroughtheWeltIS., A s

seen in=Figfure a-thewelt" l9 is1 shaped to followithe contouroffthecomplementary'edges-Zfotthef holster sides I4' arid- |5 arid hasV itslower end extending tofaf point'adjacent'* the blank portion'y 2-I whichis disposed/belowthefslotl land :which connects the holsterside's- [randI5: Said blank portion' 2|` combines Withf the adjacent lowerendfoffthe'welt ISitoproyide a'irestric't'ecl openi f ing? 22 Yatth"efbottomiofthhelsterandwhichfisZ orpistoltorba-receivediintliefhelstei However; itA wiiiflie dndrstoedfthat the'weitf lemay be; omitted iff desire'd 'I'hef'fi'ap por-tieni' I6'`isfolded* O'iitvvtrdly'f4 and back upon' the' fiiiner holster? side" I5,as illustrated in Figure 3 and is suitably secured thereto to providethe usual belt loop, as illustrated. The holster I2 may be provided witha conventional retaining strap 23 which is suitably anchored at one endto the outer side of the inner holster side I and which extends throughan opening 24 of the holster blank thence across the open top of theholster and which is secured at its opposite, free end to the outer sideof the other, outer holster side I4 by a conventional snap fastening 25.All of the parts previously described may be varied without affectingthe construction, operation and use of the holster front sight receivingchannel, hereinafter to be described and comprising the invention.

In the embodiment as illustrated in Figures 2 to 5, the `holster frontsight receiving channel, designated generally 2B and which is preferablybut not necessarily formed of the same material as the blank I3 but of agreater thickness to give it greater rigidity, is mounted on the outerside of the forward edge of the holster. Said -front sight receivingmember 2B is provided with a relatively deep inwardly opening groove orchannel 2'I of approximately the same width as the slot I'I and whichregisters therewith. Said sight receiving member 26Yis provided withlaterally projecting integral flanges 28 extending along its side edgesand which engage portions of the outer sides of the holster sides'l'IIand I5, adjacent the slot I'I. The iianges 28 are secured to saidholster sides preferably by stitching as seen at 2S but may be otherwisesecured thereto as by rivets or other fastenings or by being bondedthereto by any suitable bonding or adhesive me-f dium. The front sight'receiving channel member 26 is suiiiciently rigid to retain its shape asillustrated and is of a sufficient depth so that a revolver or pistolfront sight 30 will be loosely disposed therein when the firearm thereofis disposed withinthe holster I2. In Figure 4, a conventional type ofrevolver 3| is shown applied to the holster I2 and with its front sight30 loosely contained within the groove 2'I of the channel member 26. Itwill be readily apparent that the front sight 30 will slidelongitudinally through thev channel member as the revolver 3I is appliedto or removed from the holster and accordingly will be held byengagement of the barrel of the revolver with the forward part of theholster sides I4 and I5, out of engagement completely with the holsteror with the channel member 26, which constitutes a part thereof. Thefront sight 30 as illustrated in Figure 4 is of the undercut type at itsrear end and it will be readily apparent that this forms a sharppointwhich would otherwise readily cut or tear a holster of conventionalshape and likewise obstruct the withdrawal of the revolver therefrom.

Figure 6 illustrates a channel member 26a which differs from the channelmember 26 only in that it is provided with a shallower groove 27a.Figure 8 illustrates another form of channel member 2Gb which isemployed with a holster I2b having a wider slot I1b through which saidchannel member 2Gb extends so that its flanges 28b are disposed on theinner side of portions of the holster sides I4b and I5b and securedthereto in the same manner as by stitching 29h. Figure '7 illustratesanother form of sight receiving member designated 26a for use with verylow front sights and which constitutes a strip of arcuate cross sectionwherein the groove is omitted and which is secured by stitching 29e tothe outer side of the forward edge of the holster I 2c so that thelongitudinal intermediate portion of the ture of the sides of theholster I2d and are secured as by stitching at 29d to the holster sidesadjacent the restricted or feathered outer edges of said flanges 28d.

Figures 10 and 11 illustrate a slightly different construction includinga sight receiving channel 26e which corresponds to the channel 26 butwhich instead of being secured by stitching is provided with reinforcingstrap members 32 which are shaped to fit around the outer side of thechannel member 25e. The flanges 28e of the channel member 26e and theflanges 33 of the reinforcing strap members 32 are secured to theholster sides Ide and IEe, preferably by rivets 34. Any number of thestrap members 32 may be provided or a single reinforcing member 32 maybe provided of a length substantially corresponding to the length of the(channel member 2te and which is of the cross sectional shape asillustrated in Figure 11.

Various other modifications and changes are contemplated and mayobviously be resorted to, without departing from the spirit or scope ofthe invention as hereinafter defined by the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A firearm holster provided with a front sight receiving channelextending from adjacent the holster bottom and opening outwardly of theopen top of the holster, said channel being of a width and depth fromadjacent the holster bottom to the open upper end of the channel toloosely receive the front sight of a firearm contained within theholster and being formed from a separate channel-shaped member securedto portions of the holster and combining therewith to form a part of thecompleted holster, said channel member being securedy t0 the outer sideof one longitudinal edge of the holster, and said holster having a slotextending from adjacent its bottom and opening outwardly of its openupper end and disposed in communito form a part ofthe completed holster,SaidA holster having a longitudinally extending slot through which aportion of the. channel member extends.

3. A firearm holster provided with a front sight receiving channelextending'from adjacent the holster'bottom andfopening outwardly of 5the open top of the holster, said channel being of a Width and depthfrom adjacent the holster bottom to the open upper end of the channel toloosely receive the front sight of a rearm contained within the holstervand being formed from a separate channel-shaped member` secured toportions of the holster and combining therewith to form a `part of thecompleted holster, said channel member being secured to the outer sideof one longitudinal edge of the holster, and said l0 holster having aslot extending from adjacent its bottom and opening outwardly of itsopen upper end and disposed in communication With the channel of saidchannel member and constituting a part of said sight receiving channel,l5

said channel member having laterally projecting anges secured to holster:portions disposed on either side of said slot.

WALTER F. OHLEMEYER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the filefvofthis: patent:

NITED STATES PATENTS

